{"id":11431,"date":"2022-06-12T19:37:14","date_gmt":"2022-06-12T16:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-wants-imitated-civil-society-after-forced-closure-of-grass-root-groups\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-wants-imitated-civil-society-after-forced-closure-of-grass-root-groups","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11431\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka wants imitated civil society after forced closure of grass-root groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t * Reproduction prohibited\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka seeks to limit the public\u2019s role in the political system to small talk.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The Belarusian ruler chaired a conference with officials on community engagement on June 10. It seems the government, especially its security forces, have been doing enough to engage communities by intimidating and persecuting opponents.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t But \u0141uka\u0161enka thinks that was not enough. He believes that a totalitarian system should not only have concentration camps but also commissars responsible for political education whose role is to explain people that they should love the repressive regime, not only be obedient.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka at the conference presented his vision of the theoretical foundation of Belarus\u2019 political system. He made it clear that the system has no place for a type of civil society that exists elsewhere and existed in Belarus until recently.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He pointed out that Western civil society functions in opposition to the government. He sees it as imitated democracy, in which permissiveness replaces real freedoms.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cBut we are different. We have culture and traditions of our own,\u201d he noted. In Belarus, he said, non-governmental organizations must operate under the government\u2019s control and be part of the state apparatus. He sees the All-Belarusian People\u2019s Assembly, regular gatherings of loyal government-picked delegates, as best example of such partnership.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t This concept is known as corporatism whose adherents hold that the state forms the basis of society. The state requires all members of a particular sector to join officially designated interest groups. Such interest groups attain official status and participate in national policymaking. As a result, the state fully controls the groups, and groups control their members. That concept was embodied in classic totalitarian regimes in the 1930s and 1940s.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka admitted, however, that state-controlled groups have not been doing a poor job. \u201cPossibly, we, officials do not always see community initiatives, cannot integrate them in the state-building process, don\u2019t offer people an opportunity to feel engaged or useful. There is always the need for it. It should be admitted that our public associations \u2013 Bielaja Rus, BRSM [the Belarusian National Youth Union], trade unions, etc. \u2013 failed to see that need, . . . letting various marginal non-state organizations thrive in the area.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka ordered that authorities weed out all groups independent of the government, or \u201cbad guys\u201d as he put it, because they adsorbed protest sentiment in 2020.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The government has already closed down hundreds of organizations it deemed hostile, including groups that ran dog and cat shelters. Now he probably wants security services to be more aggressive in persecuting former nonprofit activists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The Belarusian ruler urged officials to have more discussions with members of local communities. \u201cOrganize platforms, bring up issues relevant for communities, for instance healthcare, vaccination, neighborhood improvement, water supply, trade and waste collection and processing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka seeks to limit the public\u2019s role in the political system to small talk. The Belarusian ruler chaired a conference with officials on community engagement on June 10. It seems the government, especially its security forces, have been doing enough to engage communities by intimidating and persecuting opponents. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11431","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u0141uka\u0161enka wants imitated civil society after forced closure of grass-root groups | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valeryj Karbalevi\u010d * Reproduction prohibited Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka seeks to limit the public\u2019s role in the political system to small talk. 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